Arsenal open the 2026-27 Premier League season at home to newly promoted Coventry City on Friday, kick-off 8pm local time, and the English transfer window closes at 11pm on Tuesday, 1 September. That leaves ten days for Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta to land the marquee attacker the summer has not so far produced.
The latest name is Kenan Yildiz. The 21-year-old Turkey international is described as a “dream signing” for Arteta, with reports this week putting Arsenal at the front of the queue and prepared to test Juventus with a fee at, or above, €100m.
Juventus called Yildiz “untouchable”
Earlier this summer Juventus rejected an Arsenal enquiry outright. The Italian club described Yildiz as “untouchable” and “unsellable”, and the forward signed a four-year contract extension in February that runs until 2030.
TheHardTackle reported on Thursday that Arsenal could be willing to offer as much as €100 million to prise Yildiz away in the final days of the window. Reports from Turin suggest the €100m figure is treated more as a deterrent than a valuation, with Juventus building the next cycle around the forward.
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Turkey coach’s verdict
Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella, who has picked Yildiz throughout Türkiye’s cycle, has spoken about him in glowing terms on FIFA’s own channels.
“Yildiz is an extraordinary player who is fully focused on his football. He’s not just a pretty face, but also a kind soul. He’s determined to make it to the top.”
Yildiz’s versatility, on the left, through the middle or as a second striker, matches what Arteta has been chasing all summer.
Berta still without his marquee signing
Arsenal go into the weekend as Premier League champions for the first time in more than 20 years, but the window has been a frustrating one. After missing out on Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior earlier in the window, every subsequent target has been priced beyond reach or taken off the market.
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That is why an eleventh-hour Yildiz bid is being floated at all. Without one, Arteta’s champions begin their title defence against Frank Lampard’s Coventry with essentially the squad that finished last season.
None of this is confirmed. No fee has been tabled and neither club has commented publicly. The window shuts at 11pm on Tuesday.
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